Democrats' platform to include women's issues and transportation

U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, doesn't seem to mind autographing photos of himself with his twin brother, Julian, on Friday during the Texas Democratic Convention at the Dallas Convention Center.

U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, doesn't seem to mind...

DALLAS -Texas Democrats are touting a party platform of inclusion, hoping to paper over differences on hot-button issues in a bid to portray a unified front and a contrast to the stands espoused by the GOP two weeks ago.

Though little change is expected in the party platform from two years ago, the 2014 version will include an increased focus on transportation funding shortfalls and a new section dedicated to women's issues, paralleling the message touted by the female duo at the top of the Democratic ticket.

Roughly 7,000 delegates have converged on the Big D this weekend, two weeks after Texas Republicans met at the Fort Worth end of the Metroplex to hammer out a platform that drew national attention for its controversial planks on immigration and support for so-called "reparative therapy" to convert homosexuals to heterosexuality.

"All they did was talk about hating people," Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa said at a Thursday night reception. "This week, we're in Dallas, Texas, talking about love, right?"

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The Democratic Party platform will reflect that feeling, said Garnet Coleman, the Houston state representative in charge of leading the drafting committee for the last decade.

"Our platform is designed to include, not exclude," Coleman said on Friday, the day before the draft document is viewed, debated and voted on by the permanent platform committee. "And I think their (the Republicans') platform is an expression of values that are, quite frankly, outside of the mainstream."

'Set of values' holdingColeman predicted the Democrats' platform will not spark the heated debates of the Republican convention, where delegates fought over planks on immigration, medical marijuana and homosexuality, because of a "set of values" the party approved in 2004 and on which they have been building since.

"I don't think there's a lot of change," Coleman said of the 2014 draft compared with its 2012 predecessor. The party will remain opposed to a guest worker program in favor of comprehensive immigration reform and the issue of child detainees on the border likely will not be included in the platform.

Gaps in platforms are not unusual, Texas Christian University political science professor James Riddlesperger said, because they allow parties to take a general stance on an issue without getting into the controversial nitty-gritty.

"They're not going to have major positions on issues that are likely to be divisive," Riddlesperger said. "There are going to be holes that you can drive a truck through in party platforms."

Usual hot buttonsThe most significant departure from previous years' platforms likely will be the inclusion of a new plank regarding women's issues, said Coleman. The section will focus on issues that affect women beyond family planning and abortion, such as wage disparity and other workplace challenges.

The transportation section also will see some additions, addressing what Coleman called the "non-sexy" issues of toll roads and highway building and maintenance funds.

"There's not enough money to just maintain the highways we have, so that affects the ability for Texas to grow," Coleman said, adding he would like to see a gas tax. "(Gov. Rick) Perry has made Texas highways into franchises for toll roads."

Nonetheless, there likely will be some disagreements on the usual hot-button issues. Three planks that Coleman said were unchanged in the draft document - abortion, guns and the death penalty - are all but certain to spark some heated discussion Saturday.

Democrats opposed to abortion, a small caucus at the convention, said during their Friday meeting they wished state Sen. Wendy Davis' filibuster had not catapulted the issue back into the forefront.

"Those bills were intended to protect the health of women," said caucus Chair Lois Kerschen of Lubbock, who called the Democratic response "knee-jerk." She said she had resigned herself to not getting much traction at this weekend's convention, noting she had not spoken to a party chairman "in years."

Open-carry concernsDuring a caucus meeting Friday, Democratic gun owners also expressed dismay with recent open-carry demonstrations at fast food restaurants and retailers around the state while reaffirming their support of the Second Amendment.

"I did carry an open weapon around, but I was at war," said Iraq war veteran Valorie McKinney, 33, of Dallas. "When I go to McDonald's, I don't want to see someone with a rifle."

Davis, the Democratic nominee for governor, has expressed her support of legalizing the open carrying of handguns, an issue that breaks from the party platform.

Despite Davis and the Democrats' efforts to tie Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott to the GOP platform, Riddlesperger and others acknowledged that platforms often mean little to candidates.

"The candidates are going to take positions that they think are going to win elections," Riddlesperger said.

Basic set of core valuesThe main goal, said Coleman, is to provide Democrats with a basic set of core values they can all get behind.

"I don't think this is a platform that anyone has to run away from at all," he said.

Delegates elected representatives to the permanent platform committee Friday afternoon. The committee will present the draft platform for debate and a vote by the full convention on Saturday.